Miami-Dade Transit is pulling advertisements from 10 buses that South Florida Muslims have said are offensive to Islam.

The ads, which went up Tuesday, said “Fatwa on your head? Is your community or family threatening you?'' and directed Muslims to a website to encouraging them to leave Islam.

Robert Spencer, who heads New York-based Stop the Islamization of America, which purchased the ads for one-month as the first leg of a national campaign, said they were “offered in defense of religious liberty.''

But on Thursday, Miami-Dade Transit spokeswoman Karla Damian said that after reviewing the ads, the department decided they “may be offensive to Islam'' and would remove them before the buses ran on Friday.

Damian said the ads were able to initially go up because Miami-Dade Transit has an outside company sell ad space and does not routinely review ads before they run.

The South Florida chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations had critiqued the ads as promoting “bigotry'' and making false statements about Islam.

“Islam guarantees freedom to and freedom from religion. . . . [We] reject as un-Islamic any extremist interpretation that sanctions the killing of any individual because she decided to `leave Islam,'' said director Muhammed Malik.

Liar. Muhammad Malik is part of CAIR, the Hamas-tied un-indicted co-conspirator, Muslim Brotherhood terror-tied group. And if what Malik saidwere so, the ads would run. And what about the thousands of dead apostates, or Al Azhar University, the leading Islamic university in the world, that issued this fatwa — a death warrant on apostates:

Here is the fatwa, proof that death "is a very normal part of Islamic law for apostasy and for every muslim its an honor to CLEAN the umma if Rifqa is dead."

Fatwa committee concerning the case of a man who converted to Christianity: "Since he left the Islam, he will be invited to express his regret. If he does not regret, he will be killed pertaining to rights and obligations of the Islamic law."

The bus campaigns that Muslim Brotherhood groups (CAIR, ICNA, ISNA) were sponsoring across the country inviting conversion to Islam (dawah) were deceptive and injurious. So I created this bus campaign especially after what I saw was done to Rifqa Bary.

Our pro-freedom campaign rolled out on Monday and was pulled today. Here are the ads that ran promoting conversion to Islam —

Submission. The Hamas-linked Council on American-Islamic Relations can run bus ads all over the country calling Abraham, Moses and Jesus Muslim prophets, an assertion offensive to any Jew or Christian, but a human rights group cannot run bus ads defending religious liberty. Some groups that are "offended" get contempt and mockery if they express their feelings of offense. Others get immediate results, perhaps due to the thuggish nature of their coreligionists.

UPDATE: I want to thank readers who have sent me their letters to Ms. Damien, like this one.

Dear Ms. Damian:

I recently read of your department’s decision to pull the bus ads that provided information to individuals who desire to leave Islam. I understand that the department arrived at its decision because it was “offensive” to Muslims. Considering that the County uses public buses for advertising revenue and that by doing so it solicits the public to use such space for public speech, the department’s decision to pull an ad off a public bus because a minority group may perceive it as “offensive” is tantamount to governmental interference with free speech (See the 1st Amendment of the US Constitution, Section 4 of the Florida Constitution and Virginia v. Black, 538 U.S. 343 (2003)). Moreover, I have to wonder to what degree the advertising party’s contract rights have been interfered with. In any event, by pulling these bus ads, I presume that the department will be vigilant in monitoring ads in the future so that they not offend any “minority” (e.g., I have to imagine that ads for strip clubs, raunchy radio stations must be offensive to some minority population in the County). This is a very disappointing example of politically correct government, once again, kowtowing to the perceived offenses of a minority and establishes a precedent vis-à-vis bus advertising on public buses in Miami-Dade County. Every day it seems that any minority can yell that “so & so” uttered an opposing viewpoint and that such a viewpoint is “offensive, racist, hate speech, bigotry, etc.” (the ad in question was clearly not hate speech insofar as it did not communicate a serious expression of intent to commit an act of unlawful violence or an intent to intimidate) with the end result being that the minority’s perceptions override precepts of freedom of speech, debate and the free marketplace of ideas. To be clear, I have seen the ads promoting Islam on Miami-Dade County buses and I consider such advertising to be protected speech under the aforementioned cited authorities. However, your department’s decision in the instant matter is troubling and very disappointing. Thank you for your time.

Its a shame things are so 1 sided. I wonder if Mrs. Geller toned it down to a level where Cair wouldnt be able to make an intollerance complaint but could still get the message out if this could be successful.

2. Spencer to Jihad Watch reader:

You're whistling in the dark. Everyone tones down what they say in order to placate the Muslims. Ultimately that is the road to Sharia and dhimmitude. What is offensive about our ad? What is wrong with its tone? Apostates are threatened and killed all over the world. We offered them help. What would you suggest we tone down? What would you suggest we not say in order to please them? Why must we always play this game, instead of speaking the truth without fear? There is nothing objectively wrong or offensive about our ad. You're falling into their trap, allowing them to define what is offensive and what isn't. I refuse to do so.

And even if our ad were offensive to someone, so what? I am offended by all sorts of things. I wouldn't dream of trying to get them suppressed because they offend me, and no one would take me seriously if I did. But Muslims are already a de facto privileged class, even in America — if I'm offended, no one gives two hoots and no one should, but if Muslims are offended, watch out! Heaven and earth will move!

The group that is allowed to suppress speech with which it disagrees, or which it finds offensive, is a group that can suppress dissent and carry out its will unchallenged. That is the road to tyranny.

SIOA!

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The American Freedom Defense Initiative (AFDI)
The American Freedom Defense Initiative is a new organization launched by Pamela Geller and Robert Spencer. Our objective is to go on the offensive when legal, academic, legislative, cultural, sociological, and political actions are taken to dismantle our basic freedoms and values.